


Geralt Has Two Hands

by OhNoMyBreadsticks



Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Idiots in Love, Implied/Referenced Sex, M/M, Multi, Pining, Podfic & Podficced Works, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:41:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22305832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhNoMyBreadsticks/pseuds/OhNoMyBreadsticks
Summary: Yennefer is giving her relationship with Geralt a second chance. Jaskier has a huge pining crush on Geralt. Geralt really doesn't want to lose either of them. Is there any possibility for the three of them to work it out?Alternatively: 5 Times Geralt Holds Yennefer or Jaskier's Hand, and 1 Time He Holds Both
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion/Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg
Comments: 56
Kudos: 453





	Geralt Has Two Hands

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Witcher fandom, would you like some incredibly niche fluffy AU content?? Good because that's all I have to give you tbh!! I've only watched the Netflix series, so please be gentle with me, but I _love_ these three and knew I needed to write something happy for them <3 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this meme-inspired fic, because I certainly enjoyed writing it!
> 
> As always, shoutout to my incredible friend [thislittlekumquat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thislittlekumquat/pseuds/thislittlekumquat) who beta-ed this extremely fast <3 <3
> 
> Update: If you'd like to listen to this fic, the absolutely lovely reena_jenkis has made a [podfic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23814523)! I highly recommend you check it out C:

1.

_ Geralt _ , Yennefer thinks,  _ must be the stupidest man on campus _ . This had all been his idea, after all, his stupid pleading little ‘Let’s do this right, Yen. Let me try again.’ 

Admittedly, she had fallen for it, like she always did. It was hard to say no to Geralt, and she knew he had a hard time saying no to her in return. Although really, what did ‘doing this right’ even mean? She isn’t one for sweeping romanticism, not at this point in her life. She has papers to write, lab work to get done, not to mention managing the stupidly high amount of drama in her honors society. But Geralt was… He was Geralt, and they had history, so she has agreed to meet him today to try again.

Which is why Yennefer is fuming mad and ready to murder Geralt the next time they cross paths. She has, at this point, been waiting in the coffee shop for twenty minutes past their appointed ‘date’. If this was his idea of a joke, to stand her up after all this fuss, then he was going to greatly regret it. Standing up, Yennefer pushes aside her half finished latte and grabs her purse. She doesn’t have to sit here and wait for a man who was never going to show up for her, be it now or in a more metaphorical sense.

The ache in Yennefer’s chest has nothing to do with the fact that she had gotten her hopes up over this, of course not. She doesn’t care about Geralt, not really. He’s just an old flame she sometimes fools around with, nothing more. Her hand tightens around her purse strap as she looks down at the untouched cup of black coffee she had ordered for him. Stupid, really. A waste of money and time. Definitely not a bitter reminder of the nights they had spent sitting up together late into the night, half studying, half making out. 

Yennefer steps out of the coffee shop just as a familiar voice calls out “Yen!” She turns, and there he is, practically bolting towards her, barely out of breath but hair an absolute mess. Must have driven over on his bike without a helmet again, the absolute idiot. Yennefer opens her mouth, ready to give Geralt the verbal lashing he deserves, when there’s suddenly a bunch of purple flowers being thrust at her. Lilacs, she realizes, the sweet perfume wafting up into her face, her favorite. 

“Sorry, the florist was out so I had to go off campus and then…” Geralt trails off into his trademark mumble and shrug, and Yennefer tears her eyes away from the riot of purple being offered her to really look at him. 

To an outside observer, Geralt’s stony expression is absolutely unreadable, but she can see the shy nervousness painted across his face. His eyes, those perfectly strange amber eyes, can’t quite seem to land fully on her face, instead flicking awkwardly down to the flowers.

Yennefer finally moves, reaching out to wrap her hands around Geralt’s holding the bouquet. “Thank you,” she says quietly, smiling as she squeezes his hands, “They’re lovely.” Equally as lovely is the way their fingers stay intertwined even as she takes the bouquet from him and they walk back into the cafe, but she’ll never admit that.

2.

_ Geralt _ , Jaskier thinks,  _ must be the smartest man on campus. _ And yet, and  _ yet! _ He insisted on having the world’s stupidest hobbies. Who in their right mind actually exercised on purpose? Apparently Jaskier’s roommate, who always headed to the gym after class and spent half the evening there. Usually, Jaskier didn’t have to deal with this one unfortunate personality flaw of Geralt’s. No, he just stayed at home in the apartment and enjoyed the view when Geralt came home and inevitably stripped off his shirt halfway to his room. The one benefit to working out was, apparently, that your body looked amazing.

And yes, Jaskier realizes that ogling his roommate was a little on the weird side, but what else was a man supposed to do when he was pining for something that could never be? He already has several playlists he listens to when he’s fantasizing about himself and Geralt going on cute dates together or just hanging out in the apartment like they already do (except in the fantasy they got to kiss a lot more than in reality). It’s not like Jaskier’s ever going to do anything, no, he’s already bitterly resigned himself to his fate.

Geralt is not only taken by the equally hot and incredibly intimidating Yennefer, but he is also definitely not interested in out of shape music majors. No, Jaskier is going to be single and pining forever, but it’s fine. He likes to think the edge of melancholy helps his composing, although it does have the unfortunate side effect of making him write an alarming number of ballads about gorgeous men who will never love you back. And is that really all that unfortunate? 

But tonight Jaskier is being directly affected by Geralt’s exercise obsession, because he needs a ride home. He missed the bus that he usually takes, and it’s not like he can walk all the way from campus to their apartment carrying his guitar on his back. Geralt’s bike, which he insists on calling Roach for some unintelligible reason, is also off limits, as Geralt has made it very clear Jaskier is not allowed to touch Roach for any reason ever. So Jaskier has to wait for his roommate to finish up in the gym, entertaining himself with his guitar while he sits and watches the sun start to set. 

He can’t deny the way his face lights up when Geralt finally appears, looking gorgeous and amazing as usual even with sweaty skin and his hair pulled back in a messy bun. Disgusting. Should be illegal. Jaskier scrambles to his feet and tries not to let his heart flutter when Geralt takes his guitar without even having to be asked, slinging it across his back like it doesn’t weigh anything. Jaskier babbles along like always as they walk out to the parking lot, and to his credit, Geralt never makes him feel like he’s being  _ too _ annoying. He  _ hm _ s and  _ huh _ s, and sometimes he does that really sexy grunt in response to something Jaskier has said, and that’s as good as it gets, Jaskier is sure.

Well, that is, until Geralt extends his hand to help him get on the bike, and uses that hand to guide Jaskier into full on hugging him from behind. Oh he may faint. The ride to their apartment passes in a blur of solid muscle and shared body heat, and all of a sudden Geralt’s holding his hand  _ again _ to help him down, and Jaskier decides that he may need to miss the bus more often.

3.

Yennefer has almost forgotten about Geralt’s little volunteering project until she gets a text from him on a Saturday morning letting her know that their Sunday afternoon date may need to be postponed. Either that, or she’s welcome to join him at the local Boy’s and Girl’s club. She doesn’t answer right away, mulling it over in her mind a little bit before she makes a decision. She’s always had a… strange relationship with kids in general, and this would be a whole afternoon of them. Despite her better judgement, Yennefer texts back a ‘sure, I’ll meet you there’. 

Maybe it’s curiosity. Maybe it’s not wanting to be alone the whole weekend. Either way, she’s stuck with the decision now.

As Yennefer walks up to the building on Sunday, she wonders again just how Geralt got sucked into something like this. It’s a program for talented and gifted youngsters, she knows that, helping out kids who are interested in learning but might not have all the right opportunities to succeed. And they bring in people from the community as mentors or volunteers - which is how Geralt comes into the picture. How strange. It’s not that he isn’t smart, he’s a physics major for god’s sake, not that you’d think that by looking at him. It’s just… Yennefer’s never thought of him as the mentor type. Maybe that’s on her though.

As soon as she steps through the door, Yennefer’s assaulted by a cacophony of noise and sights. There are kids laughing, people hurrying about, and things being thrown around. It’s pleasant, even if it’s a little overwhelming at first. Geralt’s not hard to find, as big as he is, and with that mop of silver hair to boot. He looks up and waves her over, smiling more than she’s ever seen him smile before in her life. There’s a little girl standing next to him, and they’re building a bridge made out of popsicle sticks to learn about something sciencey or other. 

“Yen, this is Ciri. She’s my buddy this year,” Geralt explains, gesturing to the little blond, who beams up at Yennefer and extends a hand out for a surprisingly competent handshake. “Ciri, this is Yennefer. She’s…” He runs out of words immediately, and Yennefer can’t help the fond surge of affection she feels seeing him flounder like that. 

“Is she your special friend? The one you talked about earlier?” Ciri asks, and she’s got a sly sort of smile on her face that makes Geralt go a little pink around the ears. Yennefer likes her already.

Helping with Ciri, Yennefer soon finds, isn’t half as bad as she had thought. The little science projects are silly, sure, but they  _ are _ teaching her something, and between Yennefer and Geralt’s knowledge they’re able to build one that and actually teach her some cool things about the world. By the end of the afternoon, Yennefer is smiling more than she usually does - apparently it’s infectious - and almost all of the stress of the week has melted off of her. 

Still, she’s not prepared for when Geralt slips his hand under the table and gently clasps it around hers. He shoots Ciri a theatrical wink and presses a finger to his lips as if it’s some great secret. Yennefer, meanwhile, is attempting to calm her heart, which is practically beating out of her chest. It’s too much like the happy family she has always secretly envisioned, and it’s… it’s a lot. But she squeezes his hand in return, and that gives her the strength to not freak out and instead enjoy this perfect moment before it slips away.

4.

Jaskier has always considered himself a pretty good people person. He’s naturally talented at charming others, he can read body language, and even if he doesn’t always react appropriately he can tell when someone’s tone of voice has shifted into ‘you’re really starting to piss me off’ territory. Geralt though, he had been a bit of a challenge. When they had first moved in together, Jaskier had been completely baffled by the lack of any apparent emotion on the man’s face at any one time. Well, okay, the one emotion that appeared regularly was annoyance, but he had never let that deter him.

Over time though, Jaskier has come to realize that Geralt isn’t emotionless at all. In fact, he’s quite the softie underneath that brooding exterior - a man likely to run himself ragged helping out others who aren’t going to thank him at all. Jaskier can tell now when Geralt is pleased to see him, or when he’s just tired from late night studying, or when he’s hungover and actually legitimately needs him to turn the music down in the morning. It’s a secret language just the two of them share, he thinks, and that’s a lovely thought indeed.

Tonight, when Geralt comes into the apartment, Jaskier barely needs to share this secret language to tell that he’s upset. He’s completely silent, and he’s carrying what looks like two lifetime’s worth of tension in those broad shoulders of his. He doesn’t even acknowledge Jaskier when he enters the living room, stalking past and slamming the door to his room so hard it bounces open again without latching. Whatever it is, Geralt’s a wreck over it, and Jaskier can’t help the way his heart clenches in his chest in sympathy.

He shouldn’t get involved, he really shouldn’t. And yet… Jaskier finds himself slowly walking towards his roommate’s bedroom, hesitantly pushing open the door from where it’s already sitting ajar. Geralt is sitting on the bed, head in hands, again appearing to totally ignore Jaskier in favor of whatever misery has him wrapped up in its grip. For once, not a single word comes to Jaskier’s mind. There’s nothing, not one single thing he could say right now that might make Geralt feel better, especially because he doesn’t know what’s wrong. (Is it Yennefer? A selfish part of his mind asks. Maybe she’s finally dumped him for good.)

Instead, Jaskier sits cautiously down next to Geralt and sets one hand gently on his shoulder. It’s a lifeline, an offer, and a token of sympathy all in one, and he hopes that comes across. Silence stretches between them, until suddenly, slowly, Geralt reaches up to set his hand on top of Jaskier’s, the grip a little shaky but still firm enough to not be an accident. They sit like that for a long while, exchanging the simplest of human contact, but it’s enough for Geralt. And if it’s enough for Geralt, it’s enough for Jaskier.

  
  


5.

She could get used to this, Yennefer thinks, as she lays in bed and lets Geralt press kisses to her knuckles. His stubble scratches at her skin, and she lets out a soft giggle, turning her head finally to watch him. They’ve been doing this for a few months now, this sleeping over and actually sleeping thing. Just sharing a bed is surprisingly pleasant, and Yennefer finds herself craving the cuddles just as much as the other activities they get up to. Not that she’d ever admit it, but she knows Geralt knows.

Tonight though, Geralt is a little distant, and Yennefer can’t quite put her finger on why. They’re tangled together in her bed, her head resting comfortably on his chest as they watch some documentary or another on the television. Geralt is always quietly affectionate when they’re together, but tonight he’s been lavishing attention on her, pressing chaste kisses to the top of her head and the delicate skin on the inside of her wrist. 

“What is it, Geralt?” Yennefer finally asks, turning her head up to look at him. And, sure enough, Geralt looks away, not wanting to meet her eyes. He only does that when he’s really nervous. She’s known him too long not to recognize it, and it makes her worry. Things have been too good, haven’t they? She should have seen the end approaching, but she wished it didn’t have to happen now. Not when she’s so comfortable, not when she’s gotten her hopes up so high…

“I just… I need to talk to you about something. Ask you something,” Geralt finally mumbles, still holding her hand, as if he needs the reassurance of her touch to keep going. Yennefer nods, feeling the dread intensify. 

And yet. Somehow, the dreaded sentence never comes. Geralt talks, halting and nervous, and Yennefer finds herself slowly breaking into a relieved smile. The dread lifts, banished by a warm surge of affection as she turns her hand and threads their fingers together.

“That’s all? Oh Geralt, I knew that already. I’ve been waiting for you to talk to me about it, because I don’t mind at all.” Yennefer says, pulling his hand close to press a kiss to his knuckles in reply. They’re going to be fine, because the way Geralt is smiling down at her is enough to fill her with warmth for the rest of the week.

\+ 1

This is quite possibly the worst day he has ever had to endure, Jaskier thinks miserably. When Geralt had suggested they have a movie night he had been ecstatic, but that happiness had quickly withered and died when Geralt announced Yennefer would be joining them. Which left Jaskier the bitter third wheel in his own apartment. He had made peace with his one-sided affection for Geralt, sure, but it was so hard to be happy for him when he had to watch him be in love with someone else. Also Yennefer scared him, honestly. In both a ‘she could kill me’ and ‘she could step on me’ kind of way, which was confusing but not surprising. Jaskier had never felt his love was limited to just one gender, after all.

He almost wishes he didn’t love at all though, as he tidies up the living room and sees Geralt setting out the  _ nice  _ pillows and blankets on the sofa. Of course his girlfriend would get special treatment, not like nights when he and Jaskier would huddle up watching horror movies under that same threadbare blanket they’d bought when they first moved in together. A little spitefully, Jaskier takes that blanket and sets it on the armchair, intending to claim that spot for himself. And if he sees Geralt watching him with a strange look in his eyes, well, serves him right. 

By the time Yennefer arrives, Jaskier is busying himself in the kitchen making snacks, thinking that at least now he’ll have something to do to distract himself. Geralt and Yennefer are out in the living room talking softly, but Jaskier can hear them laugh once in a while, so he’s thoroughly miserable by the time it’s time to start the movie. He’s hiding it well though, he thinks, managing to bring out two bowls of popcorn with a grin and a little joke. Yennefer takes the bowl and actually  _ smiles _ at him, so she must already be having a great night. Great.

All three of them settle in as Geralt fumbles with the DVD player that only he can work for some reason, and Jaskier curls up on his armchair. He definitely doesn’t look longingly over at his usual spot on the sofa, which Geralt has weirdly left open still. Yennefer is curled up against him on his right, but the spot to his left where Jaskier likes to sprawl out, that’s not even occupied with a pillow. Coincidence, Jaskier thinks, and goes back to silently munching his popcorn. At least he has the movie to watch. And by sitting over here with his own bowl he won’t have to worry about Geralt stealing most of the popcorn. Oh, the many perks of being forever alone.

The film hasn’t even gotten to the halfway point when Geralt lets out one of what Jaskier knows is his frustrated little snorts. “Jaskier,” he says, and Jaskier practically startles out of his skin. “Are you going to come over here, or are you going to sulk into your popcorn the whole time?” Geralt asks, and Jaskier feels his blood turn to ice in his veins. Oh no. He’s been caught, and now both of them are probably going to be terribly annoyed at him. He’ll have to leave his own apartment, live on the streets, wait --

“Come over there?” Jaskier asks in a strangled squeak, gesturing at the sofa, at the spot Geralt had apparently saved for him. 

Geralt nods, replying, “Yes, come over here. I do have two hands, you know.” 

Jaskier is frozen in place, looking at Yennefer in disbelief, but she simply reaches over and pats at Geralt’s thigh in invitation. As if to say that it’s okay. It’s okay for Jaskier to share. Faster than he’ll ever admit for fear of embarrassment, Jaskier is scrambling onto the sofa, and Geralt is wrapping his arm comfortably around him, and they’re  _ cuddling _ , all three of them.

Jaskier knows he’s beaming from ear to ear, but he can’t help it. This is officially the best night of his life. Geralt’s hand finds his and squeezes, and looking over at how pleased Yennefer looks, Jaskier knows she’s getting the same treatment.  _ Two hands _ , Jaskier thinks,  _ how had he never thought of this before? _ It’s a revelation, and he never wants to lose this feeling ever again.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!! I hope it was enjoyable <3 I am getting pulled into this fandom at a rapid rate, so who knows, I may be back to write more of these three!
> 
> As always, I cherish any and all kudos and comments <3 I’m available on [tumblr](https://ohnomybreadsticks.tumblr.com/) if you ever feel like chatting or reading some of my lil drabbles, I’d love to see you there! Fair warning, it's all DBH right now, but I would love to make some Witcher friends!! <3

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[podfic] Geralt Has Two Hands](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23814523) by [reena_jenkins](https://archiveofourown.org/users/reena_jenkins/pseuds/reena_jenkins)




End file.
